


home

by modsisawesome



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gwom - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Swearing, dadvid, david is the best dad, gwen is also the best mom, gwenvid - Freeform, slowburn, will add tags if needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-03-20 09:18:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13714644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/modsisawesome/pseuds/modsisawesome
Summary: the summer of Camp Campbell's adventures has finally come to a closing. everyone has packed their bags, and went home to their awaiting families. Max's parents are late to pick him up, and he's starting to lose hope. why would they want to pick up such a good-for-nothing kid anyway?





	1. chapter 1

A light cool breeze ran through the trees, signalling the ever-approaching fall. The soft cacophony of bugs both near and far in the air hummed sweetly. The trees shuffled in the wind, spreading the sweet scent of pine all around. It was a nice day.

A camp counsellor and his last remaining camper sat idly on a bus bench, waiting for one last car to come as the sun set. The world was illuminated by a warm glow.

“They’re not coming.” Max mumbled under his breath. He kicked a rock at his feet, sending it scampering into the distance.

“Don’t say that, Max!” David tried to sound as reassuring as possible, but he was even starting to have doubts. 

Max stood up and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, scowling deeply at the dirt beneath him. “Oh, shut up, David. I knew they wouldn’t. You knew they wouldn’t.” He ground a dent into the firm soil with the toe of his shoe. 

David tried to think of something to say, but nothing was coming to mind. He opened his mouth, hoping it would just come to him all at once, but there was still nothing. He closed it once more. 

“So, uh…” Max tried to start, back still turned. He glanced up at the sky. “Can I borrow some money for a bus ride home, or something? I- I can pay you back next summer.” 

David decided to brush over the fact that he planned on coming back next summer. “What? Are you kidding me?” 

Max seemed a bit taken aback, turning back to face his counsellor. “What?”

“I’m not letting you take a bus all the way back home!” He waved his arms, standing up. “Come on,” He said, ushering the boy inside,”We’ll wait inside a little longer.”

Max grumbled in annoyance, but didn’t seem to protest. David thought he heard him say something under his breath, but he couldn’t determine what it was. 

\-- 

“Max?” Gwen questioned when he walked inside the counsellors cabin. She sat at her desk, looking up from the magazine she had been reading. “What are you still doing here?”

“His parents haven’t gotten here yet.” David answered for him. 

“Seriously? It’s like,” She glanced at the clock,”almost 9.”

David shrugged, but gave her a nervous look. Max shuffled over to one of the chairs in front of the TV, and flicked on the device. He sat down, and browsed the channels absently. 

“What do we do if they don’t come?” Gwen whispered to David, cupping her hand to hopefully block out as much from Max as she could. 

David waved toward the door, indicating that they should talk outside. Gwen nodded in understanding.

“We’ll be back in a second, Max.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” The boy mumbled, but his voice sounded off. 

“They’ve been late before, but never this late.” Gwen said mostly to herself once David closed the door.

“I know.” David put his hands on his hips as he watched the road that stretched off into the distance. He could see the entrance sign from where he stood, old and faded. Then another sign, at the turn at the end of the road, reading ‘SEE YOU NEXT SUMMER!’

“What do we do if they don’t come at all?” Gwen spoke again in a whisper, this time much more vulnerable. 

“I mean,” David started, rubbing his neck awkwardly,”I did have a bit of an idea.” 

“Which is?” Gwen pressed.

“I was thinking I could…” He trailed off, turning his head away and mumbling. 

“You could…?” Gwen said, walking around him to follow his face. 

“That I could…” He bit his lip in thought for a short moment. “I was thinking I could adopt him.” He looked up guiltily at Gwen, head still lowered. 

“What??” She exclaimed, then quickly toned her voice down to a sort of breathy whisper. “Adopt him? Are you serious??”

David floundered to explain himself. “I’ve thought about it for a long time! I know he’s never been happy with his family. He’s always made that sort of clear. So I started to look into fostering stuff…”

“You’ve put that much thought into it?” Gwen asked, seemingly genuinely surprised. 

“Yeah, I just- I thought I could try fostering him for a bit, and if he didn’t like me, he could go somewhere else. I wouldn’t want him to stay with me if he didn’t want to.”

“Really?Are you shitting me? You think he wouldn’t want to stay with you?” Gwen seemed fairly amused by that notion. 

“Well- why would he?” 

“Man, you’re really dense, David.” She shook her head and laughed lightly to herself. 

“What are you talking about?” He questioned, tilting his head in confusion. 

“You’re like, one of the only people he actually likes. Along with Nikki and Neil, of course.” She shrugged at the last part. “He kind of idolizes you. Even though he would never say it. I can tell.” 

“But he never acts like it.” David said, almost sounding hurt. 

“Of course he doesn’t. God, he would never act like he cares about someone, in front of them. Who do you think he is? Little man has a reputation to uphold.” Gwen laughed again, a little heartier this time.

“I guess you have a point.” He admitted, shifting his weight. 

She nodded slowly as she turned to watch the sky turning dark all around them. 

“I think he’d love to have you around too.” David said quietly, almost not expecting her to hear him. Something deep inside him hoped she would, though.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” Gwen crossed her arms tightly against the lowering temperature. 

“Now, are you kidding me?” David jokingly mocked. “He likes you! He’d want you around. I know it.”

She shook her head, bringing her arms closer to herself. An uncontrollable shiver shook her frame. “I… No, no, he wants you.”

“Hey,” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and offered her a smile. “He wants you too. He likes you. Just like you could tell with me, I can tell with you. He would want you around.” He made a point to look straight into her eyes at the last part. 

She still bit her lip in hesitance. “I couldn’t be a parent, David.” She rubbed her arms in a weak attempt to try to warm herself, avoiding his gaze.

“Why not?” He pried. He didn’t want to do this to her. Gwen had limits. He knew that. But he for once, he couldn’t shake this. Something in his chest was telling him not to. 

Gwen’s chest felt tight as she tried to force the words out. “I would never want to mess up Max the same way my parents messed me up.” She finally admitted.

David held his breath, trying to think of something to say. “I get it. I do.” 

“No, you don’t.” She said, but there was no real mallace.

“Well, maybe I don’t.” He relented, but didn’t stop talking. “But I know you would never do that to someone else. Not if you could help it.”

She still didn’t look up from his shirt. She traced the folds in his handkerchief with her eyes.

“And I also know that Max loves you. A whole lot.” David smiled warmly at her when she finally met his gaze. 

“I don’t know…” She sighed, still hesitant. “I’ll think about it.”

David’s smile grew.

\--

“Hey, we’re back.” Gwen called as she opened the door. 

Max gave a quiet hum in reply, but nothing else. David glanced nervously at Gwen. 

“Whatcha watchin’?” He tried asking as nonchalantly as possible as he went to sit in the chair beside him. He saw Max shrug. His face looked strange. No usual anger or irritation laced within his features. He almost looked sad.

David averted his attention to the TV, where a golf game was playing. 

“You watch golf?” David asked, slightly surprised.

“No.” Came Max’s small reply. His voice wavered slightly, but it was barely noticeable, unless you were really paying attention.

David hummed in response, now thoroughly confused, and equal parts concerned. He spared another glance back at Gwen, who seemed to be just as bewildered as he was. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the uneventful and boring golf game. David tried listening to Max’s slow, hollow breaths, convincing himself that everything would be ok. That Max would be ok.

The sound of tires scuffing on gravel came grumbling from outside, bringing him back to reality. He jumped up and went to go look out the window, rounding the little furniture of the room with ease. 

As he peered out, he noticed a car that was very haphazardly parked in the road. A woman opened the driver’s side door, and climbed out, starting to make her way over to the counsellor’s cabin. Her sunglasses shined in the still-setting sun on the horizon.

“Max?” David asked, looking back at the boy. He noticed that he was already getting out of his chair and grabbing his bag. The boy turned off the TV.

“I’m going.” Max said as he pushed past David to the door. The man followed him out, close behind. Gwen soon joined. 

“Hi!” David greeted with his usual enthusiasm. He stuck out his hand for her to shake. “Nice to see you again, Ms. Sandwhalia!”

She nodded in acknowledgement, taking his hand and giving it a gentle shake in acknowledgement, then quickly retracting it. David tried to brush past the fact that she wouldn’t take her glasses off to greet him properly. She had done it every other time previous; which, granted, wasn’t very many, but it was strange to see her differing from the habit now. When she turned to her son, David thought he caught something under her glasses. “You have fun?” She asked, sounding particularly uninterested. 

He nodded shyly, eyes downcast. He pulled at his backpack straps anxiously.

“Good.” She responded, once again not seeming invested. “Now get in the car.”

She was already walking back around the front of the vehicle and getting inside. 

“Alright well, Max,” David started, kneeling down to look him in the eyes,”I’m gonna miss you. I hope you had another great summer here at Camp Campbell!”

Max snorted involuntarily, and his eyes glistened in the fading light. He tried to cover both up quickly. “Yeah. Somehow, I guess I did.” 

David smiled. 

“And kid.” Gwen said, stooping down to his level. David stood up to move out of her way. “Take this.” She handed him a small piece of paper, a sequence of numbers messily scribbled onto it.

He took it, reading it carefully, then looked back up at her. “Why?”

“In case you ever need me.” She said just quietly enough for him to hear. She gave him a firm, reassuring look. 

‘ _HOOONK_ ,’ the car horn abruptly sounded, making everyone flinch.  
Max took one more fleeting, desperate look at Gwen, and nodded in thanks. He also gave David a quick nod before stuffing his bag into the backseat and climbing in himself. 

David and Gwen watched as the car quickly pealed out and sped down the street, kicking up dust and dirt in its wake.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Gwen work some things out with both each other and for Max

“Well then,” David coughed slightly, waving the dust out of his face that had been brushed up by the car that was now speeding off into the distance,”I guess that’s...the end of that.” 

“I guess so.” Gwen didn’t take her eyes off the road even after the car had turned and was out of sight. Something panged deep inside her that she knew well. Regret. Her tongue felt dry, and her legs almost broke out into a sprint without her realizing. She held them back. 

“We should probably head home now. I know you live sort of far.” David said, already turning back to the cabin. Gwen didn’t respond, but she followed. Her chest felt heavy.

David opened the door, and let her walk inside. He trailed close behind. 

As the man gathered his things on his bed and began packing them into his bags, Gwen watched him. She wanted to say something, but her mouth wasn’t on the same page as her brain. 

“Don’t you miss him?” She finally forced out, voice strained.

He didn’t look up, but stop moving. “Of course I do. I miss all the campers. I miss them every year. But I can’t sit around wallowing in that. Otherwise I forget that I’ll see them next year!” He turned to her for the last part, and gave her a small smile.

“Right.” Gwen relented, and gave a weak grin back. 

“But yeah.” David shrugged, turning back to his things, and this time, his movements were much slower. “I feel like this year has been a little special. Don’t you think so?”

Gwen’s mouth twinged upwards slightly. She sat on her bed, completely forgetting that she needed to pack. “Yeah, I feel the same way.”

“Do you think he’ll really come back next year?” The man sounded nervous, almost as if he were searching for reassurance.

In their experience, campers usually would come one summer, see their terrible conditions, and never return. Of course, there were always a few exceptions; Max was one of such. He had been returning for a while now. This was his fourth year. The two also knew that even with the few campers who did end up staying despite the less-than-desirable conditions of Camp Campbell, usually stopped coming after a few years. Kids grew up, and things changed. Times were changing. Sometimes it seemed like less and less kids coming to camp every year; and not just to Camp Campbell, it seemed to be the same with all the other camps on the lake as well.

Max seemed to be a special case, though, unlike all the other children of his generation. He had stayed for a long time. Longer than the normality. His limit had to be approaching soon, didn’t it?

“Of course he will.” Gwen responded without hesitation. “I think he likes it here. At least a little bit.”

David nodded, seemingly mostly to himself. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” His hands lowered from the shirt he was folding, and stared at the floor. He didn't move for almost a minute. Gwen started to think that his brain had short-circuited.

“David?” She tried. She tried to keep her voice soft and calm, as to not startle him.

She heard him sniffle and saw him quickly wipe his face with the back of his arm. “I’m sorry.” He said in a rush.

Gwen was already standing up, and making her way over to him. She gently grabbed his shoulders and turned him toward herself. “Hey, it’s ok.” She reassured, rubbing his shoulder gently with her thumb.

David laughed weakly to himself, through his tears that wouldn’t stop rolling down his cheeks. “I told myself I wouldn’t cry.”

Gwen forced an awkward smile. “You can cry around me, you know that right?”

David nodded. “Yeah. I just-” He cut himself off, trying to think of how to say something. “I didn’t think missing him would hurt this much.”

The woman didn’t say anything, hoping that would indicate for him to continue.

“I know that something is going on in that family. I know he’s not safe.” He choked on a sob, and wiped his face again, this time with the shirt he was still weakly holding on to. “I just want him to be safe.”

Gwen smiled genuinely now, and let her hands gently trail down his arms to hold his hands. “You really care about him, hm?” Judging by the loud sob that came out of David’s throat after she asked, she had her answer.

She wrapped her arms around him, and brought him close. “I’ll help you.” She whispered.

The crying didn’t cease, but she was able to make out his broken words in between gasps for air. “You will?”

“Yeah.” She pulled away to look at him in the eyes. “Why don’t we look up some foster care stuff?”

\--

After Gwen has successfully calmed David down, he got out his laptop, and shared all of the previous research and information that he had gotten. 

“I actually went to an adoption facility in my town and talked to someone. I got an application to be a foster parent.” He pulled the papers out of a folder and handed them to her. He watched her carefully as she took them and glanced at the cover page. “We could go back and get another one for you.” He offered slowly.

She quickly scanned the paperwork, flipping through the various pages. She tried reading a list of home requirements, and quickly realized how much her hands were shaking. She took a deep breath to try to steady herself. 

“Gwen?” 

She looked up, startled, and saw that David was giving her a very expectant look. He had probably been talking to her without her even noticing it. She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I’m sorry- what?”

David frowned. “You don’t have to do this, you know. I’m not forcing you.”

“No, no,” She was quick to reassure him,”I want to. I want to do this.”

David’s frown didn’t dissipate, obviously unconvinced.

Gwen grabbed his hand, her own still shaking slightly. “I care about Max. I want to help him too.”

A smile finally grew on David’s face, and he put his other hand on top of hers. “Ok.”

\-- 

“Then how are we going to do this?” Gwen asked finally, letting out the question that had been plaguing her mind for a few minutes.

“What are you talking about?” David quickly glanced up from his computer.

“Are we going to report his parents? And where is he going to stay?” 

“Ah. Right, right. Well, I guess I would need to find an apartment we could all stay in- i-if you want to stay with me that is.”

“Oh, wait!” Gwen exclaimed,”My roommate moved out last week and I needed to find a new one! This is perfect!”

“Really?” David beamed, sitting up a little taller. “That is perfect! How many bedrooms do you have?”

“Just two, actually.” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck guiltily.

David waved her off at the sight of her nervous expression. “That’s fine! Max and I can just share a room. Or I could sleep on your couch.”

“Yeah, sure.” She said, already moving onto the next issue. “What are we going to do about his parents?”

David flipped his laptop around so that the screen was facing her, and scooted his chair over to sit beside her. “I read that we can report them to the CPS, and they can further investigate the house. If they have incriminating evidence in their home, then Max will be taken into the custody of the state during his parents’ trial, and given to a foster family. That’s where we come in.”

Gwen nodded in understanding. “Right, ok. So then we just need to become legal foster parents, right?”

“Exactly.” He said, nodding, and pulling his computer a little closer to himself so it would be easier to type. He opened a new tab and searched up a local adoption clinic, and scrolled through the page to find their number. He stopped once he saw it. “Ah.”

He pulled his phone out his pocket and dialed the number, glancing back and forth from the two screens, making sure he had the sequence correct. Finally, he put the phone to his ear and waited.

“Hello!...I was wondering if I could possibly set up an evaluation?...Yes…” He stopped and looked at Gwen. He put his hand over the speaker as he spoke to her. “What time should I set up the appointment with the social workers?”

Gwen’s head was spinning, and she couldn’t keep up. It was actually happening. Right now. Had she cleaned the house before she left? What about Reena? Had she trashed the apartment before she left? Everything was swimming around in her head, and she felt like she was underwater. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t possibly be a mother. She could barely take care of herself, how was she supposed to take care of someone else?

David put a hand on hers, but returned to the call. “Could we call you back another time?...Thank you...Goodbye.” He quickly hung up the phone and set it on the table, quickly forgetting about it entirely. “Gwen? Are you ok?”

She forced deep breathes into her lungs, and gripped his hands so tightly it was like he was the only thing keeping her from floating away. She choked out a small,”I’m fine,” and continued to try to ground herself.

David said nothing else, and sat quietly while waiting for her to catch her breath. He rubbed her hands gently with his thumbs, watching her with concern.

“Alright.” She finally said after she had sufficiently calmed herself. “I’m ok. I’m ok.” She said mostly to herself.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” David asked gently, trying to catch her eye.

“My anxiety medication.” She said as she retracted her hand from his grip to drag it down her face. “It’s on my bed.”

He was up and back in an instant, the bottle of pills and a bottle of water in no time at all. He handed both to her as he sat back down next to her.

“I guess I forgot to take them this morning.” She laughed dryly, but her voice shook. She shoved the pills into her mouth, and took a quick gulp of water, throwing her head back as she did so.

“Do you want to do this another time?” David said after a beat of silence.

Gwen shrugged. “Maybe. I think I just need some time to let it sink in is all. I mean, we don’t even know if this will work.” She said, rubbing her sweaty hands against her jeans. 

“It’ll work.” David said, but it didn’t sound malicious in response to her previous comment. “But yes, I understand. You should take a few days at home. Then maybe we can talk about me moving in?” He treaded carefully, but continued when Gwen didn’t seem to freak out this time. “It would probably be better if they looked over the place once we were settled in.”

Gwen nodded numbly, and stared at the grain in the wood of the table.

“Do-” the man hesitated. “Do you want me to drive you home?”

Gwen chuckled lightly. “No, David, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? Because it would really be no problem-”

“I’m sure, David.” She stood up and made her way over to her bed, shoving all of her clothing and toiletries into her bag. She zipped it up and heaved it off her bed, dropping it onto its wheels on the floor. She turned around to face the man again, and realized that he had been staring at her the whole time. She gave him an awkward smile. He returned it, then it dawned upon him how strange it must have looked to be staring at her for so long. His face reddened. 

“Ah- sorry.” He mumbled out, and quickly got up and got back to packing as well. She shook her head, effectively forgiving him for doing nothing.

Gwen went around the room, collecting any other things she had laying around the room. Finally she had everything gathered. She took her bags out to her car as David continued to pack on his own in the cabin. 

Once she had everything inside, she went to turn around to go back to say goodbye formally, but found that David was already walking out with his own bags in hand.

“That was fast.” She commended as he put the luggage into his trunk, fitting them in like a game of Tetris.

“I suppose so.” He said as he worked. “I guess I’ve gotten better at it after years of practice.” 

He took a step back and pulled down the door to the trunk. He finally turned to her, putting out his arms to ask for a hug. Gwen happily returned it.

“I’ll see you soon, ok?” He said quietly to her, and pulled back to look at her. He could barely see her face through the poor light of the single lamp overhead.

She smiled. “Sure.”

\--

On her ride back to her apartment, Gwen couldn’t shake all the latter events of the day. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, and watched as the streaks of light came sweeping through the interior of the car from the passing street lamps.

She tried to turn on the radio to distract herself, but it only annoyed her. 

She just stared at the road and tried to remember the license plates of the few cars that were around, and tried her best to pass the time.

Finally, she made it home, and dragged her bags up the stairs. She fished the keys out of her sweatshirt pocket, and opened the door. She pulled her luggage inside, and left them by the front door, too tired and lazy to take them to her room and unpack them. 

On her way down the hallway, she haphazardly kicked off her shoes, almost falling both times. Then she peeled off her jacket, throwing it onto the floor of her bedroom once she got there. 

Without even changing out of her clothes, she crawled into her bed and pulled the blankets up onto herself. She caught a whiff her shirt, which not-so-strangely smelled like forest, and it made her smile. It smelled a lot like David.

Before she knew it, she was already asleep.

\-- 

For the next week, she tried to get settled back into life at home, with her normal job. She texted David at least once a day, assuring him that she hadn’t forgotten about what they wanted to do, and that she just needed a little more time to herself to adjust. 

Working at the cafe wasn’t that different from working at the camp, at both at their bare roots.

Every morning she would wake up at an ungodly hour, and go to deal with a bunch of very loud noises, and annoying people, who, of which, were way to obnoxious to deal with that early. 

Everytime she would see a child come in with one or both of their parents, she felt something she couldn’t explain. Was it envy? She wasn’t sure.

But the week had went fairly well, considering everything on Gwen’s mind. Sometimes it got hard for her to focus on things, but that wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for her anyway.

After about nine days, she decided that she might be ready to talk to David, and have him move in. She couldn’t wait too long, after all. She wanted Max out of his current situation as soon as possible. If they waited too long, it could be too late. They didn’t know how bad things were yet, after all.

One day after work, Gwen decided that she was going to call David the next morning, during her break. She would tell him that she was ready, and that he could move in, and they could start looking into the fostering parent thing. Easy enough.

When she got home, she decided to treat herself for having the courage to do it, and have some ice cream and watch some dumb action movies. 

At a certain point though, she started to realize what she would be doing tomorrow, and she started to get anxious. But she continued to eat ice cream, and without realizing it, she watched over three movies, and ate the entire carton of the cool soft serve.

She opened her phone to check the time. 12:30. Whoops. She figured she’d better get to bed. Or, try at least. With the stress at the back of her mind, she knew that it would be quite the effort.

She turned off Netflix, and threw away the ice cream container and put her spoon into the sink. 

She rubbed her deary eyes as she stumbled down her hallway toward her room. She was about to climb into her blankets when she remembered something that might help her fall asleep. She went into closet to get her camp shirt. Of which, mind you, she had still not washed since leaving the camp. It still smelled of forest, albeit a bit more diluted now. 

She clambered into her bed, and held the cloth close to her face, inhaling deeply. The soft smell of dirt and the sharp smell of pine came in recognizably to her mind.

Gwen quickly started to doze off, comforted only by the scent of the shirt tightly held in her hands.

Just as she felt herself start to lose consciousness, her phone began to buzz beside her on her nightside table. She groaned loudly, but reached for it. She squinted against the bright light of the screen, reading the caller ID. It was an unbeknownst number to her. She picked up anyway, assuming it was a wrong number, and they would keep calling if she didn’t tell them off. 

“Hello?” She grumbled into the speaker. She hoped she sounded annoyed. That’s what this person gets for keeping her up so late.

“Gwen?”

_What the_ fuck _?_

“ _Max?? _”__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so I was feeling impulsive and I wanted to write another chapter  
> this one is like twice the length of the other one, and I'm happy with that, but I also feel like this could have been a little more eloquent. ig it'll do though. I might update it later if I find some part of it that I really don't like or smth idrk


	3. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mom!gwen goes into action

Gwen was sitting up in an instant, blood going cold.

“ _Yeah, hey._ ” The boy on the other line said timidly. She could almost see him hunching over the phone, scared.

“What’s wrong?” She already knew that he must be calling him for something important. It was almost 1 in the goddamn morning. 

She heard shuffling on the other line. She assumed that he was moving the phone to his other ear, feeling uncomfortable. “ _Can...Can you pick me up?_ ”

Gwen decided to focus on why he needed to be picked up later. “Where are you?” She asked, and she was already getting out of bed and putting her sweatshirt on. She held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she put on her shoes. 

“ _I’m at a bus station. I-I can send you the address._ ” The boy murmured, and he already sounded more relieved. 

“Ok. Do that now.” She said, walking down her hallway and grabbing her car keys by the front door. “I’ll be there in a second.”

“ _Yeah._ ” Max paused for a moment. It was almost like he couldn’t believe any of this was actually happening. “ _Ok. Uh- yeah, I’ll text send you the address. Bye._ ”

Gwen waited anxiously for the familiar buzz from her phone in her car. She stared at the car in front of her, already having ignited the car to life. It hummed quietly. She heard her heart pounding in her ears. Was Max ok? Why was he calling her this late? And why on earth did he need to be picked up this late?

She was so wrapped up in her spiral of thoughts that she jumped involuntarily when her phone buzzed in her hand. She quickly put the address into her GPS, and started off. 

As she drove, her thoughts continued. The closer she got, the worse she felt. Her heart was beating so fast, it was like the only thing that she could hear. She barely caught the directions from her navigating app. She was so distracted that she didn’t even realize how fast she was going, or how recklessly she was driving. She got there in 15 minutes, when it should have taken her nearly 30. 

She finally reached her destination, and she almost swerved onto the sidewalk when she went to park. She threw open the door, and climbed out of her car, looking around frantically. She couldn’t see anyone around. Was he hiding? Oh god.

Finally, she saw him. 

“Max!” She yelled as she ran to him. He flinched at the sound of his name being screamed, and looked up at her with wide and terrified eyes. When it registered in his head that it was Gwen, he immediately got up from the bench he was sitting on, sprinting toward her. The small backpack that he was carrying flapped behind him as he did so.

He jumped into her open arms, leaving his forgotten bag dropped on the floor. She fell into a kneel on the sidewalk, holding him tightly. Quiet sobs racked Max’s small frame as he gripped Gwen’s shirt, desperately trying to hold onto her for as long as he could. His tears soaked through the cloth of her shirt quickly.

Before she even realized it, Gwen was crying too. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around the young boy. 

“I’m sorry.” Max managed in between sobs, and buried his face further into her neck. Gwen shook her head, but didn’t respond. She hoped he knew what she meant. 

She shifted, her knees starting to hurt on the hard ground. Max’s grip on the back of her shirt tightened on instinct, and she almost felt guilty. Shifting again, she picked Max up. He made a small noise of protest, but made no physical effort to move away from her.

She kneeled down again slightly to grab Max’s bag and throwing it over her shoulder.

As Gwen carried him back to her car, she heard him sniffle, and then snuggle even closer to her. She removed one arm from around him, and opened the passenger side door, with a fair amount of difficulty in trying to both do that and trying to not drop Max.

“Hey.” She tried gently, shifting him in her hold. “You wanna get in the car?”

Max didn’t say anything, but nodded weakly. He unwrapped his arms from around her neck and slipped out of her grip, landing messily on the ground. Clearly exhausted, he clambered into the seat and numbly pulled the seatbelt over his chest. Gwen put his bag at his feet, and closed the door for him. She then walked around the front of the car to get in her side. She sat down, and took a moment to compose herself, taking a few deep breaths while gripping the steering wheel.

Max didn’t say anything, but clearly looked anxious to leave. He continued to look around, out the windows, as if he was searching for someone.

Gwen quickly realized he had run away from home. That much was obvious. Even someone like David could probably figure that out pretty fast. She took another breath and held it for a few seconds, then let it out in a long sigh. We’ll talk about it when we get home.

Neither of them said anything on the way back, both clearly shaken. 

Max fidgeted with his hands in his lap, still timidly looking out the window. 

Gwen tried to keep her thoughts to herself, and stay composed. She didn’t want Max to freak out anymore than he already had. She breathed deeply, remembering an old exercise that one of her friends had taught her years ago. Breath in. Hold for four seconds. Breathe out for four seconds. 

Max seemed to notice this strange breathing habit, and spared her a few concerned glances. Gwen saw him, and caught his eye. She gave him a small nod, her way of saying she was alright. His expression dissipated slightly, and hesitantly turned his gaze back to the world outside the window.

Almost no one was out at this time, except for a few people driving. Practically no one was on the streets. Gwen quietly hoped to herself that Max wasn’t out by himself in the cold for too long. 

They finally arrived at Gwen’s apartment, and she pulled up to park. 

She flicked the ignition of the car off, but didn’t get out. After a beat of silence, she turned to the boy in the seat beside her. She decided to skip the big question first. “How long were you out there before you called me?”

Max shrugged, avoiding her prying eyes. He continued to stare at his hands in his lap.

She followed his gaze, and was able to see that his right hand was bloodied through the dim light of the streetlamp. 

She swallowed her fear and forced out,”Are you hurt?”

Gwen watched Max’s shoulders tense a great deal, and she had her answer. She inwardly cursed herself. They weren’t fast enough. _She_ wasn’t fast enough. 

“Ok.” She said, looking at the side of his face because he still refused to look at her directly. “Let’s get you inside, yeah?”

Max nodded shyly, eyes still downcast.

\--

 

Once Max had gotten in the door, Gwen closed again quickly. She turned to him after she flipped the lock into place. 

He held his backpack straps tightly, a certain look of urgency in his eyes. Gwen could swear that she felt her heart break into a million pieces and crumble onto the floor. She pushed it aside again.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” She asked, nodding to his hand. 

“A little.” He mumbled.

“Come on, then. You can put your bag by the door. And shoes off, please.” She tried to say as calmly as possible, already taking off her own shoes, and kicking them in the general direction of a basket. Max followed in her actions. He dropped his bag near them. 

Gwen started to walk down the hallway to her bathroom, but stopped when she didn’t hear Max’s small footsteps following hers. He could see that there was small spots of blood on the back of her shirt from where he had been holding on to her. She turned back to him. “You coming?” 

He looked up when she addressed him. “Ah- yeah.” He rushed out, quickly catching up to her. 

She went into the room at the end of the hallway and flicked on the light. “Get on the counter.” She told him, and he obliged. The lighting was much better in this room; it was better than any other lighting that Gwen had seen Max under in the past half hour. She could already see a nasty bruise forming on his cheek.

She searched under the sink, and pulled out a first aid kit. 

She held out her hand, asking for his. Max hesitantly gave it to her, flinching as she rolled up the sleeve of his hoodie. 

He watched intently as she inspected the wound. He hadn’t realized that he hadn’t gotten all the glass out of it. It was barely noticeable unless you were really looking for them, but there was still certainly small shards in the cuts in the palm. He also hadn’t realized that he got blood all over his favorite article of clothing. 

Gwen noticed him deflate, but didn’t take her attention from his hand. “It’s fine, Max. We can get you a new one.”

He nodded, but didn’t seem entirely convinced. 

Gwen finally looked at him in the eye now. “Did you get hurt anywhere else?” She asked carefully. 

Much to Gwen’s horror, Max lifted up his hoodie to reveal many darkening bruises on his ribs. They kicked him. _They kicked him in the stomach._ She imagined him on the ground, some fucked up asshole kicking him while he was screaming and crying. She felt her blood stop flowing. “ _Oh my god._ ” She felt herself whisper. She felt tears brimming her eyes.

“Gwen?” Max quickly dropped his shirt, looking up at her. He almost looked like he wanted to reach out and comfort her. When she saw the terrified look in his eyes, she forced herself to stop. 

“No, sorry.” She quickly waved her arms to dismiss him. She hoped her voice didn’t sound as strained as it felt. “I’m fine.”

Max lowered his arms, but still held out his injured hand. Gwen took it.

She searched the kit and pulled out a pair of tweezers. She gave him a guilty look. She didn’t want to do this to him, but she had to. “This will probably hurt.”

Max just nodded, trying to feign bravery, but she could see the sparkle of fear in his eyes. “Ok.” He said.

Gwen searched carefully in all the cuts, and picked out the small slivers of glass. Some were deeper than others. Max sucked in a sharp breath every once in a while, and Gwen knew those were the really painful ones. 

Once she had finished, she ran his hand under some cool water in the sink. “Does that feel any better?”

“No?” The sneered, and for a second, Gwen saw the boy she knew so well.

Gwen smiled slightly despite the circumstances. “Sorry.”

She wrapped his hand tightly in gauze, and held it for a moment, admiring how tiny his hand was in her own. 

“Uh- Gwen?” 

She retracted her hand quickly. “My bad.” She forced out a laugh. 

Max shrugged, hopping off the counter. Gwen walked out of the bathroom and to the living room, as the boy followed close behind.

She sat down on the couch, but didn’t lean back. She hunched over her lap, on the edge of her seat. She twiddled her thumbs in between her knees, trying to think of what to do in this situation. Max sat on the other end of the piece of furniture, keeping to himself. He played with the bandages on his hand, peeling them back in some places to take a peek at his cuts. When Gwen looked over at him, she realized how hard he was trying not to hunch over. Whenever he would subcpnsciously, he would immediately flinch back, as if he were in extreme pain. Oh right. The bruises. 

Gwen quietly thought to herself. They might have to get those checked out. He could have bruised his ribs. Or they could be fractured. She doubted the latter, though. He would be in a lot worse pain right now if he had. He would barely be able to breathe.

Max caught her looking at him and raised an eyebrow, equal parts confused and embarrassed. 

“Do you have any clothes with you?” She asked, referring to his backpack. 

“Only another shirt.” He said, turning back to his hands. “I didn’t have time to pack anything else.”

“Hm.” She pondered. She knew that they would have to get him more clothes, but what was she supposed to do now? Then she remembered something. “Wait here a second.”

Before the boy even had a chance to respond, Gwen was up and down the hallway. She went digging through her closet for a few minutes, searching for a very particular. _Ah! There it was!_

She came back into the living room, holding up a set of pajama bottoms for someone about Max’s size. A little big, though. 

“Batman?” A smirk pulled ever-so-slightly at the edges of Max’s mouth. That vulnerable waver in his voice was still present though, just barely. “You have Batman pajamas?”

“Hey, believe it or not, I thought Batman was cool.” Gwen held up the pants, admiring them. “I just thought they might fit you, is all.”

Max stood up, going to take them. “Yeah, probably.” He took them to the bathroom to put them on. 

While Gwen waited for him, her mind continued to swarm, but she was able to keep it under control for the most part. Key word: most.

Just when she thought she was going to start spiralling, Max walked back out of the bathroom. 

The pants were a little big on him. They bagged up at his feet, and they would definitely fall off if he hadn’t tied the waist string. Gwen couldn’t help but smile. 

“Nice. I hoped they would fit.” She nodded. She glanced at the clock. 2:03. It was going to be a long day at work tomorrow. “You probably want to go to bed, right?”

He nodded.

“You don’t have a pillow or anything, do you?” 

He shook his head nervously.

“Ok.” She said as she heaved herself off the couch. “You can sleep in my bed then.”

“W-what?” Max floundered. “I can’t take your bed.”

“You can, and you will. I insist.” Gwen said, going to get his bag. She threw it to him. “I’m assuming you have a little friend in there you might like to sleep with?” 

His face flushed, and he lowered his head in shame. 

“Hey, it’s alright man. I had one too.” she assured as she walked past him. She led him to her bedroom. It was a disaster, to be quite frank. But sometimes she didn’t feel like cleaning it. Or all the time. What was so wrong with that?

“Here.” She stepped out of the doorway so he could go in first. He seemed skeptical at first, but obeyed. 

Without even thinking, he opened his bag and got out Mr. Honeynuts, and climbed into Gwen’s bed. As she pulled the blankets over him, he noticed her counsellor shirt next to her pillow. He held it up, observing it.

“Oh uh,” Gwen offered her hand out to take it, embarrassed. “I-It just helps me fall asleep sometimes.”

He placed back onto the sheet next to him, defending it. “N-no, it’s ok. I kinda-...” Max cut himself, unsure of how to say it without sounding like a total idiot, or a sentimental baby.

She answered for him. “Yeah. Me too.”

He gave her a small smile. 

“Alright, well, uh,” She started to walk over to the door. “I’ll be in the room across the hall if you need me, ok?”

Max nodded, pulling the blankets closer to his chest. He almost looked like any other little 10 year-old. All except for the dark bruise that was plaguing his cheek. 

“Goodnight.” She said finally, reaching for the light switch. 

“Night.” He responded. 

And she flipped the light off. Normally, she would close the door, but she decided to keep it open. Both for Max’s comfort, and her own. 

She walked across the hall and into what was now effectively her guest room. Reena left it in surprisingly good condition. Gwen made a mental note to text a thanks to her later. 

She grabbed a random blanket and pillow from the closet in the room, too tired to really care about anything at all. 

She turned off the light, then crawled onto the bed, laying the pillow down and wrapping the blanket tightly around her shoulders. A stream of light came into the room from the window, giving a little dim illumination. 

Gwen stared at the wall, trying to drift off. 

Shit. It really was going to long day at work tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up to all the nice messages from people on the last chapter this morning and it made me really happy!! so thank you all for your sweet comments! it made my day <333  
> anyway, all those good vibes inspired me to write another chapter today! but just so you know, I probably won't update this fic so regularly after this. I'll sure as hell try, but school is really hard to keep up with sometimes, and writing fan fics on top of that can be a lot to handle ;;  
> anyway, thank you for reading!! <33


	4. chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> morning routines have changed a bit

Gwen felt like she had barely closed her eyes when her alarm came blaring into her ears.

She groaned, stretching to the bedside table to turn it off. She let her body lean off the side of the bed, too exhausted to sit up. 

Since her alarm had just rang, that meant it was 5:00. That also meant she had only gotten 3 hours of sleep, and was expected to be at the opening shift in an hour. No way in hell was that happening. 

Still half asleep, she sat up and grabbed her phone. She tried to rub the dreariness out of her eyes as much as possible as she dialed her boss’s number.

She put the phone to her ear as it rang.

“ _Hello?_ ” A chipper voice came. How could she be awake this early? And be _happy_ about it?

“Yes, hello, Helen.” Gwen tried to sound as coherent as possible; not like she had just woken up after dealing with a runaway 10 year-old till almost 2:30 in the morning. “It’s Gwen.”

“ _Oh, good morning, Gwen! What can I do for you?_ ”

Gwen fidgeted with the blanket in her lap. “I need to take the day off today. I’m really not feeling well.” She lied.

" _Oh, of course! You’re one of my most reliable employees. I’m sure we can make that work._ ” She could hear the smile in her boss’s voice. If they were talking in person, she was sure that Helen would have winked.

“Thank you so much.” Gwen gushed. “I promise I’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ll work overtime to make up for it.”

Helen laughed quietly, but was quick to reassure. “ _There’s no need, sweetheart; take all the time you need. Feel better soon!_ ”

“Thank you again.” Gwen felt a small smile on her face. “Bye.”

“ _Bye, bye!_ ”

Helen often reminded her of David, with her bounciness and over-enthusiasm. Maybe that was why she liked her so much. 

Gwen flopped back onto the bed, laying on her back. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, listening to the quiet noises of apartment settling, and the noises of the awakening city outside. 

She grabbed her phone again, and began scrolling through various medias in an effort to try to keep herself awake. David would be up for his own job in an hour, and she knew she had to call him as soon as possible. 

She saw some of her old friends from high school, some acquaintances. Though, it seemed that all which were doing much better with their lives than she was. They had nice jobs, nice homes. What the hell? Kyle got married? And Angie is having a baby? How the time flies. 

While all those people were out living their lives, and making something of themselves, Gwen was stuck. Stuck in this stupid city. Stuck with her stupid job. Stuck with her stupid life.

She decided to go on Youtube instead.

She watched a few vine compilations, just as any adult would. It helped distract her, at least a little bit. She tried to contain her laughter as best she could, but some quiet giggles escaped. 

Before she knew it, it was already 6:00. 

Gwen sat up, rubbing her eyes once more, and staring out the window while trying to get a grip on her surroundings. 

She debated taking her blanket with her to the kitchen, but thought against it. She could just get a hoodie from the living room anyway. She was pretty sure she left one laying on the couch. 

She rounded the corner of the hallway, rubbing her arms to keep out the cold. Aha. So she did leave it there.

She grabbed the dark hoodie off the back of her couch, and slipped it over her body. Due to being exposed to the cold morning air by itself all night long, the cloth was cold, but Gwen knew it would warm up if she wore it for at least a few minutes. 

She wandered into the kitchen and started to make herself some coffee, turning on the machine. While she waited, she leaned against the counter and pulled her phone out of her pocket. 6:12. She was sure David was up now. His contact number stared at her in the face, almost mocking her. Was it really that hard to call him after years of talking to him? Why was it any different now from all the times before?

She finally swallowed her pride, and before she could talk herself out of it, she clicked the call button. She drummed her fingers against the tile of the counter as she listened to the ringing.

He picked up in an instant. “ _Gwen? Is everything ok?_ ” Damnit. She hadn’t wanted him to worry. But she guessed that he already knew her so well that he knew she rarely called people, and that she never called people in the morning. 

“Um...no.” Gwen managed through the lump forming in her throat. 

The concern laced in the man’s voice grew. “ _What’s wrong?_ ”

“There’s been some... complications to our plan.” She grimaced at the way she phrased it. She anxiously picked at the cuticles on her free hand.

She heard him pause. “ _What kind of complications?_ ”

“Max. He ran away from home. B-but he’s with me, right now.”

David suddenly got hysterical. “ _He’s with you??_ ” Before she even had a chance to respond, he was already talking again. “ _Oh thank goodness. How long has he been with you? Is he alright?_ ”

Gwen clenched her fist. “I just picked him up last night, after he called me in the middle of the night. He’s uh…” She trailed off, not exactly sure how to put it.

“ _Oh, please don’t tell me he’s hurt._ ” David said, and it sounded like all the air had left his lungs. Gwen was feeling quite winded too. Her silence gave him his answer. “ _Oh god. I’m-I’m coming over. What’s your address again? Can you send it to me?_ ”

Gwen could hear shuffling on the other end, and imagined him packing up clothes. “Yeah, sure.” Her head was already feeling a little fuzzy. “Yeah, I’ll send it to you.” 

“ _Thank you._ ” She heard him say over the ruffling. He paused, as if trying to think. “ _Ok. I’ll be there as soon as I can._ ” 

Somehow she felt comforted by that. “See you soon. Bye.”

“ _Bye._ ” He said, and it sounded more composed already.

She hung up, then set her phone on the counter. Holding her head in her hands, she leaned on her elbows on the surface. She did it. She told him. And now David was on his way. Everything was going to be ok. Everything was going to be ok. 

The beep of the coffee machine ripped Gwen out of her thoughts, and she went over to make herself a cup. 

As she drank, she stared out the window, now longer feeling like browsing media or watching TV. She was about half way through her cup when Max walked in. She didn’t even notice. 

“Hey.” He greeted quietly, so as to not startle her. It didn’t work; she jumped a little, subconsciously. He awkwardly took a seat at the table. 

“Hey.” She responded. She noticed that the bruise on his cheek was much more prominent now. It looked painful. “How’d you sleep?”

He shrugged, pushing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He avoided looking at her, overlooking the familiar patterns that littered the fabric of his pants. 

“Do you want coffee?” 

Max still didn’t look up, but nodded timidly.

“Just straight black, right?”

He nodded again. 

“Great.” She said, already getting up. She got one of her favorite mugs, with a large nintendo logo printed on the front, and poured the boy a cup. She brought it over to him, returning to her own spot. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, quietly sipping their cups. It wasn’t necessarily awkward, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable either. 

“So uh…” Gwen started terribly. She tried to sound as casual as possible. “I called David.”

Max seemed to perk up at that. She could tell that he was trying to contain himself. “You did?” She knew there were a million other questions that he wanted to ask. 

“Yeah. He’s on his way. It might take him a couple hours to get here, though. He doesn’t live super close to me.” She saw him falter slightly.

He hummed in acknowledgement, clearly trying to sound uninterested. He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. 

A question still plagued the back of Gwen’s mind, and she figured now would be as good a time as any to ask it. When else could she do it?

“Can I ask you something?” She inquired carefully.

He shrugged, bringing the mug up to his mouth again. “Sure.”

“Why did you run away?” 

She saw him lowered the cup from his face, gulping; she knew he hadn’t taken a sip. 

He stared down at the liquid in the mug, and sat in silence for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to say anything or if he wasn’t sure how to say what he wanted to. 

Gwen waited patiently for him. “Hey. You don’t have to talk about it.” She said, giving him an sympathetic smile. 

He gave a small nod, barely noticeable.

Gwen thought that was the end of the conversation. She knew they would have to get him to talk eventually, but she figured it would be easier if David was around to help. She didn’t really expect anything from him. She just wanted him to feel comfortable enough to tell her. But, of course, he had only just ran away last night. Why would he want to talk about it right now? Gwen cursed herself for asking now. It was so… inconsiderate.

“They… never gave a shit about me.” Max forced out, gripping the handle of his mug tightly. The porcelain squeaked quietly. “But sometimes my dad would get drunk, and he would get so angry over…” He paused, and Gwen thought she saw him shiver. “ _Everything…_ Usually he would just take it out on mom. But lately, he’s been…” He trailed off. When he realized how he could portray what he didn’t want to say out loud, he lifted his bandaged hand. Gwen nodded, trying not to act as horrified as she felt.

“It’s never been that bad before.” The boy whispered, voice hoarse. “I guess I just got… scared.”

Max looked extremely uncomfortable now, and Gwen couldn’t help but compare it to how she felt. She hoped she didn’t look that terrified. 

“You don’t have to say anything else.” She said when she caught his eye at a passing glance.

He nodded slowly to himself, lowering his head. 

Then they went back to silence, much more uncomfortable, but somehow much closer. 

\--

After they finished their coffees, the two migrated to the living room. Well, more like Gwen went there, and Max awkwardly followed, not knowing where else to go. There, Gwen started watching TV, and the boy got his DS and played by himself in the corner of the couch. 

They didn’t really talk, but they were comfortable with each other’s presences. There was something comforting about it, to have someone with you, even without interacting with them directly. Just having someone there at all to put up with your existence can be enough. 

Gwen was even starting to forget about the stress in the back of her mind. That is, until a knock came to her door. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max flinch. She turned to him, and she saw the frantic look in his eyes. He looked so tense she felt like he might jump up and out a window at any second.

“It’s fine.” She reassured quietly as she stood up. “It’s probably just David.” She stood in front of the door, and called out. “Who is it?”

“It’s David!” A cheerful voice came from the other side. Gwen threw back a small smile at Max. He had noticeably calmed down. 

The woman unlocked the door and swung it open, revealing what looked to be a very tired David. His hair was a mess, which wasn’t often an occurrence, and he was dressed in only an old hoodie and pair of sweatpants. He had two of bags of luggage behind him, hands on both of their handles. “May I come in?” He asked politely. 

“Oh, yeah, of course.” Gwen stepped out of his way, but held the door open. 

“Thank you.” She heard him say as he walked past. Out of instinct, she immediately locked the door once more. 

He set his luggage by the door, and turned to Gwen. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. You know how traffic is at this time of the morning.”

She shook her head, watching his movements. “Yeah, of course.”

“David?” 

Max’s small voice came from beneath them. Gwen wasn’t sure she had ever heard him say that name with so softly, with no conviction. No anger; not even the slightest bit of annoyance. 

David was already kneeling down to Max’s level, trying to get a better look at him. “Hey, Max.” He greeted, but took out his usual extreme volume and excitement. Gwen could see his eyes trail to the bruise on Max’s face. She was sure Max saw it too.

Before David had a chance to say anything else, Max was wrapping himself around his neck, and burying his face in his shoulder. “It doesn’t really hurt.” Max’s muffled voice came, to reassure the man as best as he could. He held back the tears that were forming in his eyes. David faltered slightly, but returned the boy’s embrace. He wasn’t sure when he would get this again. 

“I don’t care.” David said with surprising seriousness. Gwen saw him grip the back of the boy’s shirt tighter. “You’re _hurt._ ” 

Max shook his head, huddling his face closer into the warmth of David’s shoulder. 

Gwen watched them for a short moment, feeling awkward. She almost felt like she was intruding on a very special moment. She almost walked away to give them their space. 

Then, without really thinking about it, she gently fell onto her knees on the floor, and wrapped her arms around the both of them. They were both so warm, and inviting. David moved to wrap one arm around her, and keep the other tightly wound around Max.

For the first time in her life, Gwen felt really at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok ok ok I know I said it might be a little while till the next chapter would come out, but last night I couldn't help myself, and I started writing again.  
> but seriously this time, it might not be until next weekend (or later) til another chapter comes out. sorry ;;  
> once again, thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day!! <3


	5. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah so this one gets kinda angsty, but it starts out nice

They sat in silence, bathing in each others’ warmth for who knows how long. It didn’t seem that any of them minded. Maybe that’s was what they all really needed. The low light of the sun broke through the crack of the curtains over the window, swallowing them in brightness.

A sniffle from Max interrupted the peace unintentionally. After being accustomed to such low volume, even a quiet thing like that could sound so loud. 

Gwen started to pull away first, even though she never wanted to let go of the two boys in front of her. She tried to ignore how cold she felt without them. 

Out of reflex, Max pulled away too, now feeling much to clingy. He fidgeted with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. David and Gwen shared a glance, but didn’t get up or move away from him. 

“Hey.” Gwen said softly. “Why don’t you go watch TV or something? It’s all yours.”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He uttered with no particular interest as he got up and made his way to living room. He left the others sitting in silence in his wake. 

\--

“I should have gotten him sooner.” David whispered to himself, looking into his lightly steaming cup of coffee. Gwen had given it to him after they had recollected themselves and went to the kitchen. Max clearly didn’t want to talk about what had just happened ever again, immediately going back to his DS on the couch as if nothing had occured in the first place. Gwen and David now sat at Gwen’s kitchen table, whispering to one another. 

“You can’t do that to yourself, David.” Gwen said, feeling her eyebrows knit together. She rubbed the edge of her cup with her finger. She didn’t look up, not wanting to see at his sorrowful expression.

“But just- look at him.” The man waved toward the boy sitting on the couch. He had pulled his hood up, and had folded his legs close up to his chest. The mark on his face was barely noticeable from their angle, but still perceivable. He didn’t seem to notice when both David and Gwen turned to look at him. “We didn’t get him in time. He got hurt. And I wasn’t there…” David’s hushed voice barely came out, staring at the despondent boy. David went quiet for a long time, but Gwen could tell that he wasn’t finished; he had so much more to say. He just didn’t know how to say it. She waited for him. 

“He doesn’t even sound like himself.” He huffed dryly; a new concept to Gwen. She had never heard him sound like that. So… detached. So dejected. Then again, she had never heard Max sound like he did now either. “It’s like he’s a different kid. It’s... scary. Really scary.” 

It was true. The boy hadn’t cursed once since Gwen had seen him. That in itself was strange. And now this eerie silence. Just a few words. Maybe a nod or shake of the head. The kid was always very vocal; about all things, really. This new side of him was strange. Or, for a lack of a better way to describe it: scary.

“I know.” Gwen said, turning back to David. “But we’re here now, right?” She almost sounded like she was trying to both reassure the man in front of her and herself at the same time.

David nodded slightly, turning back to his drink. He seemed like he was still stuck in the swarm of thoughts in the back of his mind. Gwen felt bad that she couldn’t coax him out of them, or at least help a little. “I just can’t help but feel like I did something wrong.” 

“You didn’t.” Gwen whispered with surprising firmness. She looked at his downturned expression, trying her best to catch his eye. He didn’t budge. “You did all you could. I’m sure Max is happy you’re here now.”

He hummed quietly as he took a sip of his coffee. The steam blew into his face, filling his nose with the scent of the drink. He held it close to his face. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?” He asked without looking up. When silence ensued, he glanced up to find Gwen’s quizzical look, clearly wanting him to clarify. “Keeping him with us, I mean.” 

Gwen thought for a short moment, leaning back in her chair. “I think so. If he didn’t want to be with us, he wouldn’t have came to me for help, right?” She really hoped she was right.

David nodded, lowering his mug back onto the table. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, staring at Max as he played on his console quietly. The small clicks and noises of the game were almost sort of comforting. Like a soft song of nostalgia. 

“What are we going to do about his parents?” Gwen whispered, leaning over the table. “What we’re doing right now isn’t exactly legal.”

“We’ll need to call the CPS as soon as possible, I think. They should be able to take care of everything. And if we explain the situation to them, we should be fine. Hopefully.”

Gwen nodded slowly to herself, lowering her gaze back down to her hands. David caught notice of this quickly. “I can call? If you want, that is.”

The woman quickly waved him off, but didn’t look up. She pulled her feet onto her chair with her, hugging them close to her body. David couldn’t help but compare her to the boy in the living room. Hm. “No, I can handle it.”

“Ok.” David relented. 

They continued on in silence once more. Somehow, Gwen already felt so much better about everything now that David was there now to face it with her. She wasn’t alone. Not this time.

“Hey Max?” David called out. The boy hummed in response. “Are you hungry?” 

“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged, and looked over his shoulder at them. “Why?”

David glanced at Gwen, but quickly returned to Max’s gaze. “On my way over here, I saw a diner. It looked pretty good. D-do you want to go?” He asked so gently, Gwen thought he might shatter like a champagne glass being dropped onto concrete if someone so much as touched him. 

Max furrowed his brows, something almost familiar. It almost held a little annoyance. He pointed to his darkened cheek then, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His expression turned to that of mild mockery. “What about this?” He raised his eyebrow.

“Oh, right. I didn’t even think about that.” David hit his forehead, frowning to himself. “I guess that idea is out the window.”

“Not exactly.” Gwen chipped in, and she suddenly felt very put on the spot when they both turned to her. She threw her arm over the back of her chair, turning almost fully to the boy sitting on her couch. “I could try to cover it up?” She offered.

Max’s features instantly turned up into that of disgust. “With makeup? No fucking way.” He sneered.

\--

Twenty minutes later, David, Gwen, and Max were driving down the street in Gwen’s car. Max’s face was lazily covered with concealer, clearly not the same shade as his neck. Gwen hoped they had terrible lighting in the diner.

David could practically feel the anxiety radiating off of Max in the backseat. “We’re almost there.” He reassured, tossing him back a quick glance. Max seemed to be calmed slightly by that. 

“What was it called again? ‘Bob’s Diner?’” Gwen asked, but didn’t take her eyes off of the buildings she was scanning. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel, a habit she picked up years ago and hadn’t been able to shake. The constant rhythm almost put her at ease.

“Yep!” David responded, and immediately turned to helping her look for the place. 

“Is that it?” Max asked timidly, pointing to an old diner. Gwen followed his gaze. Sure enough, the old sign facing out to the road read in large bold letters,‘ _BOB’S DINER._ ’

David sat up straighter, clearly excited. He clapped his hands together, then pointed. “Yes! That’s it! Good eye, Max!”

Max didn’t respond, but Gwen could see the small smirk on his face in the rearview mirror, despite how he tried to hide it behind his sleeve.

Gwen pulled into the parking lot, and found the closest open space to the front door of the restaurant. The trio climbed out of the car, and walked up to the front, David leading the way. He opened the door for Gwen and Max. They all gathered at the reception desk, waiting for someone to serve them. 

“Can you guys get the table?” Gwen asked, pulling her phone out of her pocket and waving it around slightly. “I need to make a phone call.”

“Oh, sure!” David replied without hesitation. “Max and I can handle it. Right, Max?” He looked down at the boy for confirmation. 

Max shrugged halfheartedly. “Whatever.” He swatted away David’s hand when he tried to ruffle his hair. Gwen smiled at that. He seemed to be acting a little more like himself now. Maybe it was because they were both around? She didn’t have time to dwell on the thought.

“Great, thanks. I’ll be back in a few minutes, I promise.” She said, already turning and walking back outside. 

A young waitress came to the two, apologizing profusely for making them wait. David forgave her with ease. Max stayed silent, watching the interaction. He kept close to David’s side, though he would never admit to such. 

“So, is it just you two then?” She asked sweetly, holding a set of menus close to her chest.

“No, no, we have another.” David pointed his thumb toward the door. “She’ll be back in a minute.”

“Alrighty. And do you have any preference of where you’d like to sit? Outside? Window table? Anything?” 

David looked down at Max, who was practically standing behind him. “Anywhere you wanna sit, bud?”

Max shifted his weight uncomfortably, now being the center of attention. “Maybe a window seat?” He mumbled, glancing up at the receptionist.

“Sure! You’re in luck,” she winked,”I think one just opened up before you came in.”

\--

Max scooted into the far end of the bench, closest to the window. He peered out into the parking lot. On the horizon in the distance, there seemed to be some storm clouds rolling in. Max didn’t remember hearing about a storm on the weather when he had watched it with Gwen earlier that morning.

The receptionist handed David a menu, and left another for Gwen after a quick questioning look. She placed a child’s menu and a set of crayons in front of Max.

“You guys having a little ‘uncle-and-nephew-outing?’” She asked, pointing between the two of them.

David forced out an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, yeah, something like that.” He saw Max sink a little deeper into his seat. 

“How sweet!” She gushed, smiling widely. She bounced on her feet, her long dark ponytail bobbing back and forth behind her. “Anyway, your waiter will be with you shortly!”

“Thank you.” David nodded graciously.

“Of course!” And she was gone.

“Jesus, she was worse than you on a _bad day._ ” Max huffed, and sat up a little straighter to get a better look at the menu in front of him. “And she thought I needed a kiddie menu? What the fuck?”

David waved an accusational finger at him, but there was no real malice in it. “Max, language.” He decided to brush over the fact that Max thought he was so obnoxious. Max grumbled at his correction. 

Though David disliked his cursing, it was certainly comforting to see Max returning to his old behavior. The way that both he and Gwen knew him best.

David unfolded the menu in front of him, scanning his options. Only a few really popped out at him. He lowered his menu to look at Max, who had already stolen what was supposed to be Gwen’s menu and was looking it over. “What are you thinking of having?”

Max bit his lip in concentrating. He was clearly putting way too much thought into it. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills, flipping through them carefully. He was counting them. “Well,” he started, glancing back at the menu laying on the table in front of them,”I was able to scrounge up $6 from my room at my parents’ place. I think I can get some pancakes with that.”

David frowned. “Are you serious??” Max looked up at him, confusion lacing his features. “You think I would make you pay for your own food?” 

Max raised an eyebrow incredulously. “Uh, yeah? Why wouldn’t I pay for my own goddamn food?”

David shook his head. “Put that money away. I’m paying.” He said, but Max got the feeling that he should listen. 

“Whatever.” The boy murmured as he shoved the small wad of bills back into his sweatshirt pocket. He picked up the menu once more, looking it over. He looked up slightly guiltily at David, who had also already resumed scanning his own menu. “Do you think I could get the pancakes, then?”

Without even looking up, David smiled and nodded. “Of course! That sounds pretty good, actually. I think I’ll get some too.” He gave a direct smile to Max when he put his menu down. 

Gwen came over to the table, sitting beside David. “Sorry if I took too long.” She apologized, setting her phone face down on the table. 

“It’s alright, you weren’t long anyway.” David assured her, handing her his menu. She began looking it over. 

“Who did you have to call, anyway?” Max asked curiously, perking up slightly.

Gwen shook her head,”Oh, no one.” She glanced at David. ”Just a friend from work. I needed to tell him I wouldn’t be in today.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Jonathan would probably get pretty overwhelmed by himself all morning. She just hoped that someone had covered her shift so he wouldn’t have to be completely alone. 

“Where do you work?” David inquired, either clearly not knowing who she had called, or playing along. She couldn’t tell. 

“A little cafe a few blocks down from here,” Gwen sighed,”it’s a hellhole.”

“Sounds like you have two hellhole jobs, then.” Max snickered, shoving his hands into his hoodie. 

Before David could correct him for being rude, Gwen raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Thanks, Sherlock, I hadn’t noticed. After all, they aren’t my jobs, or anything.”

Max’s smile widened.

“Good morning, folks. I’m Tanner.” A waiter interrupted any further conversation from continuing. “I’ll be your waiter today. Is there any drinks I can get you started off with?” He took a tablet of paper out of one of his apron pockets, and clicked a pen. He held both at the ready, looking at the trio expectantly. 

“Ah! We’ll take two…” David looked at Gwen for confirmation. She nodded. “Two coffees. And what do you want, Max?”

The boy shrugged. “Maybe an orange juice?” 

“Sure thing, kiddo.” Tanner scribbled something onto the paper. “Are you guys ready to order, too?”

“No, I think we need a little more time.” David answers for the other two. “But thank you.”

“Sure! Be back in two shakes with your drinks.”

“At least he was easier to deal with. I can’t stand restaurant servers.” Max grumbled as he leaned back into the bench. His gaze drifted back to the sky outside the window. 

“I get what you mean. I can’t even stand the sound of myself, sometimes.” Gwen mumbled as she continued tracing the words of the menu with her eyes. 

“Jesus, how do you put up with that? Is that why you always look like your hungover at camp?” Max asked, but only looked away briefly from the scene outside.

She snorted, looking up at the kid. Gwen could see him smile. “You little shit.” He shrugged, but the smirk on his face didn't falter. 

David just shook his head at their antics. Although, he couldn’t even begin to describe how much better he felt that Max was acting almost normal again. He felt ecstatic. “So, what do you think you’re getting, Gwen?” 

“Probably the eggs and hashbrowns. I would literally die for them. They make ‘em really good here.” She said, folding up the menu and pushing it away from herself. 

“Hm,” David hummed, and a small smile grew on his face,”sounds good.”

Max kicked his feet under the table, hitting it gently. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Longer than five minutes.” David laughed, and Max groaned. 

“I know that, idiot.” He crossed his arms indignantly over his chest. “I’m just asking.”

“It should probably be like fifteen to twenty minutes. Five at most for the drinks to get here.” Gwen chipped in. “I’ve been here before. They have pretty good service, from what I remember.”

Max sunk back into his seat. “K.”

\-- 

“Here’s your food!” Tanner began handing the meals to each respective person. He stood back once he had finished, looking between them all. “Enjoy. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to just flag me down.”

“Great, thank you.” Gwen nodded, and he went away. 

Max immediately dug into his meal, almost finishing an entire pancake in less than a minute. David and Gwen shared a look. 

“How are the pancakes, bud?” David asked carefully, taking a sip of his coffee, but didn't his eyes off of the boy. 

“Good.” Max managed through the food in his mouth.

David spared Gwen another look. “When was the last time you ate?”

Max slowed down slightly, chewing his pancake thoughtfully. He picked at the food on his plate with his fork. “I don’t know.” He mumbled, shrugging slightly. He shoveled another forkful of a pancake into his mouth.

David felt uneasy by that answer, but didn’t pry. 

“So…” David started ever-so-eloquently,”are you guys up to see a movie?”

Gwen took a big gulp of her coffee, trying to get the lump in her throat to go away. She saw Max was about to say something, but cut in before he had the chance to. “Actually, we need to do something later.” She avoided eye contact with both of them. 

“‘Do something?’” David asked. As soon as he caught her eye, he knew what she meant. “Oh, right. Sorry.” He said quieter than before. 

Max looked between the two of them, eyebrows furrowing together. “You guys think I’m stupid or something? I know you’re talking about something. What is it?” 

“Nothing.” They responded in unison. 

\--

“So are you guys gonna tell me what’s going on or what?” Max asked as they walked through the door of Gwen’s apartment. He kicked his shoes off at the door, and sat on the couch, crossing his arms.

Gwen closed and locked the door behind herself, and stood awkwardly in the threshold. 

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom, real quick. I’ll be right back.” Gwen said, already making her way down the hallway. 

David sat on the couch, a little ways away from the boy. He stared at his limp hands in his lap, refusing to lift his gaze. “I know it’s really early, and you basically just got here, but…”

Max shifted his sitting position. He didn’t say anything, but David knew that he wanted him to continue. An uncomfortable knot formed in his throat, impossible to swallow away. He hoped it didn’t make his voice waver in the way he felt it would.

“We need to talk about your parents.” He forced out, and glanced up at Max. He saw his features immediately lower. 

The boy looked away, shrugging. David knew he was trying to feign uninterest. “They don’t give a shit about me. They probably haven’t even sent out a missing person’s report or anything, anyway.” His shoulders tensed slightly. “They probably haven’t even noticed I’m gone.”

“No, not that.” David said, trying not to pick at his fingernails in anxiety. “We reported your parents to the Child Protection Services.”

“You fucking reported me to the CPS?” Max screamed, jumping up off the couch. “I can’t believe you did that! They’re going to fucking take me away! Shit, shit, shit...”

Gwen ran into the room upon having heard the yelling. “Wait, Max-”

The boy only spared her a passing glance. “You’re the one who called them, weren’t you?? You don’t want to have to deal with my shit anymore, huh?” Max stalked over to him, pointing his finger accusationally. David backed up out of instinct, and put up his hands in defense. He could see the tears welling up in Max’s eyes. 

“No, Max, we’re trying to help you!” 

“Oh, _bullshit!_ ” Max choked out. “You’re just like my parents!”

“Max, stop it!” Gwen ran to him, and grabbed him by the shoulders. She hated the way he flinched when she touched him. She turned him toward her, so that he could see her face. His lip quivered helplessly, shaking uncontrollably. He furrowed his brows in anger once more, trying to cover up everything else. 

“ _You_ let him call, didn't you? You don’t care about me.” Max sneered, trying to squirm out of her grip. His breathing hitched, warm tears still rolling down his cheeks. His face softened, turning to that of the fear and sadness of a young, lonely child. He lowered his gaze to his feet. "I can't believe I thought you guys..." He looked to David. His expression twisted once more, and his voice shook. "I can't believe I thought _you_ cared about me! Even _you_ want to get rid of me!"

“Max, stop it. _Stop!_ ” She begged. He finally calmed down, narrowing his eyes at her. 

“ _I_ was the one who called them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one,,, took me a while to write. I still don't really like it, but I'm just gonna live with it tbh ://


	6. chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Gwen flounder to explain themselves

Max spat a laugh at her. The tears slowed, the boy already covering them up with anger. “Oh, like that’s so much better, Gwen. That means you care even less.” 

“That’s not what I meant-” She fumed to try to claw her way out of the whole she had dug herself into. “We just want to help you. Your parents- they hurt you.”

“Yeah, and?” Max crossed his arms, finally scrambling out of her grip. “Even if they did, and you called CPS, they’re not gonna give a shit. You realize that?? They’re gonna throw me into foster care with some dumb greedy assholes that want money from the government.” His voice still wavered and shook, but he did his best trying to control it.

David tried to make his way over to him, holding out his hand. He didn’t touch the boy, though. Not when he knew he would only get pushed farther away. “We’re going to take care of that, I promise.” Max looked up at the firmness in the man’s voice. David furrowed his eyebrows in seriousness, repeating,”I promise.”

Max turned away, back to the floor. He closed his arms tighter upon himself. He wanted to believe them. He really did. “How?” He finally managed quietly. 

David shook his head, moving a little closer. “Just- I’ll take care of it, ok?” Then he quickly corrected himself. “We’ll take care of it. We’re going to protect you.” He kneeled down, hoping that would be a little less intimidating. Someone out of such a situation just a day or so ago would be sensitive. Even if it were someone like Max, who would never say so. 

The boy glanced back up at him once more, unsure. He stared at his feet as they curled into the carpet. “You promise?” His soft, hoarse voice came. 

“I _promise_.” David repeated again. 

“ _We_ promise.” Gwen added from beside him. 

Max’s shoulders relaxed ever-so-slightly. “You won’t let them take me?”

“I would never let that happen.” David reassured him, scooting closer. He reached out his arm to him, and waited for Max to move away. The boy didn’t budge. He put his hand gently on the boy’s shoulder. “Okay? I would _never_ let that happen.”

Max shrugged, but seemed to be very careful to not shrug off David’s hand. “Yeah, sure.” He said, but both Gwen and David could tell that somehow, he believed them. 

David smiled. 

\--

“Jesus.” Gwen dragged her hand down her face. “I can’t believe we were able to convince him.” 

The counsellors now sat on the porch of Gwen’s apartment. 

David smiled, and let out a little chuckle. “I knew we would. He wants someone around. Even if that doesn’t end up being us in the end, he’d want anyone other than his parents.” His face seemed to twist at the mention of the couple. 

“Have you met his dad?” Gwen asked him, picking at the old, deteriorating sleeves of her sweatshirt. 

“No. Have you?” 

“No. But I’ve heard enough about him to know that I don’t like him.” Gwen scoffed, beginning to pick more roughly. 

David stayed silent for a moment. “Was he the one who did it?” 

A shiver traced down Gwen’s spine, but it wasn’t from the cool breeze. She had never heard this happy, easy-going man sound so cold and threatening. She gulped. “Yeah. Max explained a little this morning to me.” 

“ _I hate him._ ” David seethed. 

The burning in Gwen's chest told her that she felt the same. “Me too.”

\--

The rest of the day was calm. Quiet. 

David combed the internet and newspapers for job offerings. He couldn’t keep the job he had back home. There was no way that he could make an almost four hour commute to and from work everyday. He would need to find something closer. 

While he worked on that, Gwen researched more on foster parenting, and the requirements. The appointments. The paperwork. Everything they would need to know. The more she looked into it, the more eligible they seemed. It was an amazing relief off her shoulders.

David looked over shoulder at her work a few hours in. “How is everything going?”

Gwen jumped, having not noticed him. She was so distracted. “Oh, uh- it’s good.” 

“That’s good.” He smiled when she looked over at him. 

She nodded slowly. “How's your search going?” 

The man shrugged, looking back at his own laptop. There was a tab open with what she presumed to be his in-progress resume. “It’s going well, I suppose. I’ve found some promising opportunities.”

“That’s good-” Gwen was interrupted by the ring of her phone. She reached around her laptop to grab it from where it layed on the table. She looked at the caller ID. It was an blocked number. Strange. 

David caught her furrowed eyebrows and tried to follow her eyes to the number on her screen. “Who is it?”

“I… don’t know.” She pressed the answer button and put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“ _Grace._ ” Campbell’s very recognizable rough voice came through the speaker. So that was who it was. That explained why the number was blocked. It didn’t seem very necessary, considering the man often changed his burner phones, but she looked past it. She also tried not to cringe at the terrible inaccuracy of her name. She wasn’t even sure how he got her number. “ _What the hell is going on?_ ”

“What? What are you talking about?” Gwen could see David perk up beside her. 

“ _Don’t play stupid with me, girl. Why is the goddamned_ CPS _calling me?_ ” He sneered into the phone. Gwen felt her stomach drop to the floor. 

“Oh, sir, we’re uh- I’m-” She floundered helplessly, looking to David for help. He held out his hand for the device. Gwen reluctantly handed it to him. 

“Mr. Campbell?” David asked when he put it to his ear. Gwen was almost surprised that David already knew it was him. Then again, he was probably the only one that would block his number and the two of them would refer to as ‘sir.’

“ _David?_ ” The man questioned. “ _What the hell are you doing there?_ ”

“Ah, nothing.” David quickly moved on from the inquiry, and returning to the task at hand. “Why were calling Gwen?”

“ _Oh, Jesus, those fuckin’ CPS bastards are calling me. Why? They said something about some kid? Matthew?_ ” 

_Nope._ “Oh, right. It’s nothing to worry about, sir. We’ve got everything under control.”

Mr. Campbell’s voice got darker. “ _So you are involved with something, then?_ ”

David supposed they were. Just a little something. “Yes. But I swear we can handle it, Mr. Campbell.” He reassured. 

“ _I don’t give a damn._ ” David swallowed at his harshness. “ _Whatever the hell you two are doing is getting me involved, no matter if you ‘have it handled’ or not._ ” He mocked. “ _If those people come poking around, both of you are screwed. Got it?_ ”

David suppressed a shiver. “Yes, sir.” 

“ _Good boy. Don’t call me again at this number._ ” And he was gone. David wondered idly to himself how it would even be possible to call him again at quite literally a _blocked_ number.

Gwen looked at him eagerly. “So?” 

“Everything’s fine. We just need to, uh, stop stepping on his toes, so to speak.” He handed the phone back to her, and she immediately discarded it back to the table top. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

\--

Other than that small bump, the rest of the evening carried on well. Gwen and David continued with their work, and Max continued to blindly play video games or watch TV. 

Soon enough, Max drifted off on the couch, and Gwen woke up him to get him to bed. She let him have her bed once more (mostly because it was properly dressed with sheets and blankets). He was reluctant to take it again, but obliged when she insisted.

“I think I’m going to bed.” She said not soon after. She got a spare blanket and pillow from the closet in the hallway and laid down on the couch.

David stopped his work, turning to her. “What? Don’t you have an empty room?”

“Yeah, you can have it.” She rolled over to face the cushions. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. Her voice was now slightly muffled. “There’s blankets and stuff in the closet if you need them.” 

“No, no, no.” He shook his head. “I can’t. You should go sleep there.”

“No, it’s fine, David, I slept there last night. You should go.”

“I guess I’m not sleeping then.” David teased. “Because I’m not going to sleep in that bed if I know you’re sleeping out here.”

She turned around to face him then. “Seriously?” He nodded. “Alright fine, but you’re going to have to sleep in that room someday.” She rolled off the couch and gathered her things. 

Gwen padded to the hallway, but stopped at the end of it and looked back. David once more stopped his already returned to work. “Goodnight.” She shifted the fluffy blanket in her arms. “If you need anything, I’m just down the hall, ok?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He nodded. “Goodnight.”

\--

David wasn’t sure how long he had been working for, and didn’t want to look at the time. He knew it would only make him more tired. There’s no point in that. 

Unfortunately, though, his head was starting to hurt, and his eyes felt dry and exhausted, as if they could close at any second without him even realizing it. He would just wake up in the morning and curse himself for being so irresponsible. 

After a few minutes of contemplation, he decided to go to sleep. At least then, it would be a conscious decision. 

He looked at the clock at the bottom right of his screen then. 1:27 am. Yeah. It was time for bed.

He closed his laptop and pushed it away from himself. Everything now seemed a lot darker without the bright light of the screen illuminating the world within a few feet of itself. Sitting back on the couch, he rubbed the dreariness out of his eyes so that he could get to the bathroom without stumbling over. He took a moment more staring at the ceiling, then got up. 

As he made his way down the hallway, he thought he heard something. He very carefully peered in through the already opened the door to the room Gwen was in, and saw she was fast asleep. That relieved him. She really needed that. 

But then he heard the sound again. That meant it must be coming from Gwen’s room. What was Max doing up at this hour? The door was already cracked open. 

He sat in front of the door, hand on the doorknob for a short moment. He debated whether or not he should go inside. He finally decided, and gently pushed the door open. 

He was barely able to see anything, but some of the light from the kitchen came from the hallway and into the room. He was able to make out the form of the boy sat up in bed. He buried his face in his hands, as his small frame was shook by uncontrollable sobs racking his body. 

“Max?” 

The boy jumped in surprise, and began wiping furiously at his dampened face. “Fuck, David,” He hiccuped,”I’m sorry- I tried to get back to sleep, I-” 

“Woah, woah, Max,” He tried to interject the boy’s desperate ramblings. He walked into the room slowly, making his way over to the bed. “Max, it’s ok...”

“I’m sorry, I’ll- I’ll go back to sleep right now.” Max sobbed, and he was already pulling the blankets back onto himself, laying back down. 

David stood on the side of the bed, reaching out to touch him, but afraid to go through with it. “It’s alright, it’s alright.” He assured him. Max flinched away from David’s outstretched hands, eyes widening in fear. He held his hands up in defense as his breathing hitched, and he squeezed his eyes shut, whispering desperate apologies. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

David retracted his hands, and a took a few steps back from the bed. He felt his heart shatter and fall into pieces on the floor. This boy was so broken and trained from so many bad experiences, that he thought he wasn’t even allowed to _cry at night_ without getting punished. “Max, I... I would never do anything to you.” 

Max hesitantly opened his eyes, tears still uncontrollably streaming down his face. He looked up at David, noticing his own terrified expression. He wiped his face again, trying to erase any evidence he had been crying at all. “Yeah. Y-yeah, I know.” He sniffled weakly. His hands shook wildly when he tried to wipe at his eyes. Out of fear, relief, or even both, David wasn’t sure.

The stood in silence, watching the boy for a moment. He sat at the edge of his bed, and opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it once more. 

Max stared at the wall as he continued to try to compose himself. David knew he must have been extremely humiliated. He felt terrible. He never wanted Max to feel embarrassed around him for just expressing his previously repressed feelings. Although, he supposed he would feel the same way. 

David cleared his throat, trying to get the boy’s attention. Max looked over, and saw that David had his arms spread wide, warm and welcoming. He gave him a soft smile and nodded. 

Max jumped into his arms, gripping his shirt tightly in his fists, and sobbing into his shoulder. His tears bled through the fabric of David's shirt, but David didn't care. The man almost felt like crying himself. 

That was the closest that David had ever felt to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay!!!!! another chapter!!!!  
> I'm sorry this one took me so long! school has been getting pretty busy lately, and I haven't had much time to write, unfortunately. but this one was pretty fun to write; and it didn't take me too long, thankfully.  
> anyway, hope you enjoyed, and have a lovely day! <33


	7. chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's a slow day for the camp fam

_It was a nice day. Very nice. Sun shining, and not a cloud in sight. David thought those were the best kinds of days. The kind of days where it felt like nothing could ever possibly go wrong, and everything always just seemed to fall right into its proper place. The kind of days where you could just stare at the sky for hours, and just think._

_Those days were especially great when he was at camp. That always made any day better._

_Today was a lake day. Those were fun. All the campers loved it. That always made everything more fun. That made it a little easier._

_Today, the game was to pick a partner or two, grab a canoe, and paddle to the island in the middle of the lake and back. The first team that finished the task would get a prize of their choosing, within reason of course. That didn’t seem too difficult. Sometimes Max even seemed like he was having fun doing it. Though, maybe today wasn’t one of those lucky days._

_“Do we seriously have to do this today?” Max grumbled from beside him. Nikki and Neil had already gotten to their canoe, and were trying to cooperate with one another. Nikki tried demonstrating to Neil in how to paddle, but she almost seemed to be more wrong than Neil was initially. Max groaned just watching them from afar. David frowned. He thought Max was doing a little better. Apparently not._

_“Of course! It’ll be fun, Max, I promise.” He smiled down at the boy. Something flashed in his eyes that he couldn’t read, but before he could examine it further, the child turned away, back to the water. The sun shined on the surface, shimmering with the gentle laps of the waves._

_“Come on, Max!” Nikki called from their boat. She waved an oar around in the air, narrowingly missing Neil’s head. He yelled a protest at her, but it was quickly drowned out. “Get over here before we leave without you!”_

_“Yeah, yeah,” Max responded, already making his way over,”I’m coming.”_

_David hoped he would at least have a little fun._

_“Alright, Gwen!” He threw her an oar, catching her off guard. She nearly dropped it. “Let’s go!”_

_“What? I thought the campers were supposed to be doing this?” She asked, but still followed him._

_“We wouldn’t be proper camp counsellors if we didn’t watch over our campers, would we?” He started pushing the canoe into the water._

_She joined him, shoving it from the back side. It scrapped up the wet sand in its path before gently flowing into the inviting waves of the lake shore. “I guess not.”_

_They jumped into the vessel together, and began paddling. They kept a precise distance away from the children, so as to stay out of their way. David watched them with a certain sense of pride. He taught them how to do that. Look at them go. Look at them laugh and have fun with each other. Some of them may be getting something like this, something fun, for the first time in a long time. It was glorious._

_“Hey- hey, Nikki, stop it goddamnit!”_

_David looked over to find Max standing in his canoe, trying to get away from Nikki as she swung her oar around, a dripping piece of trash hanging from it. A wicked grin spread across her face as she inched closer to him._

_Max leaned away from her, trying to get out of her reach. He scowled deeply at her. “Don’t you dare touch me, I swear to fucking god, Nik.”_

_“Oh yeah?” She challenged, grin widening,”what are you gonna do about it?”_

_Neil tried to chime in,”Maybe we should just-”_

__SPLASH __

_Max was in the water in the blink of an eye; before anyone even had the time to react. He was yelling, he was thrashing._

_“David!”_

_Everything was happening at once._

_“David, help him!”_

_He was gasping, choking on air, water, anything and everything. The lake was swallowing him up slowly, and Max was trying to fight his way back up its throat._

_“David, come on, snap out of it!!!”_

_Everyone was yelling. Somehow he couldn’t even understand why anymore._

_“David,_ please! _”_

_David did nothing but stare in horror. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. He thought he might feel someone shaking him, yelling in his ear._

_The sun continued shining on the flowing water. It was bright. So bright. Beating his eyes with its harsh rays. It was almost blinding. He couldn’t understand anything anymore._

_He couldn’t help anyone._

“David.”

He was sitting up in an instant. Sweat stained his forehead, and he felt like all the air had been sucked out of his body. His body shook out of his control.

“Woah, are you ok?” Gwen’s soft voice came from beside him. He turned to her. He figured he must have had an absolutely bewildered look on his face, because she repeated herself. “Are you ok?”

He pushed the sticky hair off of his forehead and forced a small breath into his lungs. He watched his shaking hand in his lap. A discarded blanket layed on the ground, long forgotten. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” He breathed out, still at a complete loss for just about everything. 

“Are you sure?” She bit her lip. She seemed as if she wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but she didn’t know how. 

“Yeah.” He managed after a moment. He felt like he wasn’t even in his body; like an out of body experience. He forced his weak and shaking hand into a fist to thwart its twitching movement. He turned to Gwen, who seemed to be dressed for work. He must not have been asleep for very long. “You’re going to work?”

“Yeah, but I can stay back here if you’re not feeling good.” She offered, already pulling out her phone to call her boss for the second day in a row. 

He waved her off, a light laugh shaking his tense shoulders. “It’s fine, really. You seem a little too eager to get away from work, if you ask me.”

She stood from her kneel then, brushing off the nonexistent dust from her knees, and straightening her shirt. “You have no idea.” She paused for a moment more at the fraction of David’s expression faltering. “You’re sure you’ll be ok here by yourself? With Max?”

“Yes,” He insisted, sounding borderline annoyed, but his smile didn’t fade,”I can handle it.”

Gwen bit her lip, clearly still hesitant, but finally let him off of the hook, so to speak. “Okay, fine. Call me if you need anything, ok?” She was already walking over to the threshold and grabbing her keys from the bowl near the door. “I’ll be back around 1:00, hopefully.” 

“Okay. Uh-” He stuttered as she opened the door. She turned back to look at him, her keys dangling in hand. “Have a good day.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, but smiled nonetheless. “Thanks. You too.”

\--

Max woke up to the smell of something cooking in the other room. 

He sat up in bed, but almost immediately regretted it. His entire body felt heavy and tired; even worse than usual. His head ached at the sudden movement, still being sensitive to all sensations. He reached a hand to rub his face of drowsiness, and found the area around his eyes to be very dry, and for whatever reason, tender. That was weird. Why- oh right. He felt his nose then. Yep. Just as he had suspected. Dried out snot. 

So he had cried on David’s shoulder last night then. It did seem a little too realistic to be a dream. Even a good one. Those warm, reassuring arms were something pretty hard to forget, considering he was graced with the luxury of them so little. 

Great. So he had looked like a complete child in front of David for… god knows how many times it’s been now. Clearly too many, if he could no longer recall all of them. 

Despite his flaring humiliation, whatever was being cooked in the kitchen smelled much too enticing for Max to not go out and at least see what it was. 

He crawled out of bed, carefully hiding Mr. Honeynuts under his blankets. No way in hell was he going to let David see that vulnerable part of him too. 

The boy creeped down the hallway as quietly as he could, and peered around the corner to see the kitchen. David was facing away from him, thankfully, cooking something at the stove. The man swayed slightly to the tune of some song he was singing; Max didn’t recognize it at first, but as it went on, he it started to take shape in his mind. He couldn’t remember what it was called, but he had definitely heard it more than a few times before in his life. 

Max started to step out into the dining room, but the floorboard creaked loudly under his weight. Shit. 

David flipped around in an instant and caught his eye. “Oh, Max. Good morning.” David seemed oddly relieved that it was only Max standing feet away from him. He was sure that he would be absolutely mortified if anyone had seen him do something like that, even if it were someone like David or Gwen. 

“Yeah. Nice dancing, by the way.” He snarked, going to sit down. 

“You saw that then, huh?” David cracked a crooked smile, turning back to the task in front of him. He poked idly at whatever was brewing in the pan on the stove. “I really like that song.” Something in David’s expression shifted then. Something melancholic. But before Max could dwell on it any longer, David had already moved on. “Do you want any eggs?”

Max hummed, as if he were even thinking for a second that he didn’t want to eat whatever was smelling so good. “Yeah.”

“Alrighty then. I’ll make a plate for you.” He grabbed a paper plate from the cabinet a few feet away. “Do you want a piece of toast, too?”

“Yeah.”

Max was unbelievably thankful that David hadn’t yet brought up the night before, but he was sure it was only a matter of time. David always wanted to talk about things, especially feelings. Max was the exact opposite. No fucking thank you. 

As if on cue, David set down a plate of food in front of Max, then went back to the stove. 

“Wait, were you making these for yourself?”

“Hm?” David turned around, puzzled, then noticed that Max was pointing to the plate of eggs sitting in front of him. “Oh, no, I figured you were going to get up soon anyway.” He looked Max in the eye, then, and gave him a little smile. “I was making them for you.”

David made him food before he was even awake? For what? Last night? Did he feel bad or something? Was he pitying him? That sounded like something David would do. 

Either way, it made Max oddly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg I'm so so sorry it took me so long to update this ;;  
> I've just been really unhappy with the overall result of this story. it just doesn't feel right to me, ig  
> //also I'm super sorry this is kind of short

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaaa  
> I think this is going to be my first actual writing project that I'm going to try to keep up with. I'll update it as soon and as often as I possibly can!!


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